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We have returned from Canada, and I’m slowly easing back into the blog as work has piled up since I’ve been gone.

We had a great time and I’m happy to now plug the ranch that John and I stayed at. It was the Three Bars Ranch in Cranbrook, British Columbia. The Beckley family couldn’t have been nicer and our fellow guests (from the USA, Peru, Canada and the UK) were outstanding ranchmates for the week. Hopefully we will see some of them again sometime.

If you ever had an interest in a dude ranch or cowboy vacation… I strongly recommend Three Bars! We took a lot of photos and once I catch up on life, I will post many of them.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and I look forward to catching up in my blog-duties over the next few days.

Opposed to sound-bite politics, POLITICSCENTRAL aims to promote a deeper level of discourse, and seeks to introduce a consistent tone of civility in our coverage and discussions.

In addition, POLITICSCENTRAL will address the environment, which has allowed our discourse to become often crass and frequently thoughtless — that is the environment of knee-jerk polarization and hardened partisanship.

More on the Mideast Crisis as events warrant, of course.-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Not sure if you’ve seen Hillary’s tough-sounding words in support of Isreal in their current fight for security. Something struck me as I read it; specifically (emphasis mine):

America will support Israel in her efforts to send a message to Hamas, Hezbollah, to the Syrians, to the Iranians – to all who seek death and domination instead of life and freedom – that we will not permit this to happen and we will take whatever steps are necessary.

Not only that, but her Senate website has this to say (again, emphasis added):

Israel’s right to exist, and exist in safety, must never be put in question.

Given how busy I have been these past few days, juggling a number of different projects and obligations, I have not had the chance to blog as much as I would have liked, particularly on the situation in the Middle East.

That said, one of the great, good things about the blogosphere is that it provides a forum for a variety of different views on the topics of the day. And others have said many of the things I would like to have said. It seems that every time I have (what I believe to be) an original thought on the situation in the Middle East, another blogger (or pundit) has already expressed it.

In the past week, I have found that the best source for news on — and serious insights into — the situation in the Middle East has been a media outlet of which we are a proud member — Pajamas. So, to follow what’s going on in the Middle East, just bookmark their web-site and check it regularly.

One of the things which has struck me about the coverage of this crisis — compared to Israel’s last serious military offensive in Lebanon (in the 1980s) is that whereas back then, conservatives were not united behind Israel, today, nearly all serious conservatives support the Jewish State in its campaign against terrorism.

I don’t think it’s just 9/11 which reminded us that we are on the same side as Israel in the war against global Islamist terrorism. The conservative shift towards Israel intensified in the Reagan years.

As conservatives have become increasingly pro-Israel, this time, Arab nations have not united behind Israel’s adversary as they had in the past. A number of Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia “chastised Hezbollah for ‘unexpected, inappropriate and irresponsible acts’.” Except for France, even the Europeans seem to understand that Hezbollah and its Iranian patrons are responsible for the current crisis.

When I was growing up, the chief opposition to Israel in America came from the Right. Today, it is coming from the Let.

Not only do we see a new dynamic in American politics, but we are also seeing a new dynamic in the world, with Arab nations joining the free world in opposition to a terrorist organization. If this continues, victory in the War on Terror may not be as elusive as some fear.